Friday, March 18, 2011

PSB: Guest Post & Giveaway with Regan Hastings

Regan Hastings launched the Awakening series with VISIONS OF MAGIC. In the Awakening, a coven of witches called evil upon the world 800 years ago. Filled with remorse, they created a spell that would force them to live as humans for centuries. Through these lifetimes, they are protected by Eternals, their warrior-mates who must wait until the Awakening is complete to claim their women. As Maureen Child, the USA TODAY bestselling author has been nominated six times for the prestigious RITA award from the Romance Writers of America. Read the first chapter of VISIONS OF MAGIC at www.reganhastings.com.

Picture this: It’s 1903. We’re in a gentleman’s club in San Francisco. In this smoky room, a group of overstuffed, rich industrialists play cards. Heavy draperies block out most of the noise from outside, but no curtain is heavy enough to block out the backfire of an automobile as it rumbles past the window.

“Harumph!” one man says as he slaps down his next card. “I wish youngsters would stop wasting their money on those newfangled contraptions. Frivolity!”

The agreement around the table is unanimous and heated. The automobile will never replace the horse.

A young doctor from back East who’s sitting at the next table can’t stand it. In a rush of passion, Horatio Nelson Jackson approaches their table to argue that the automobile is the way of the future. Before the end of the evening, he has bet that he can drive a car from San Francisco to New York in less than three months.

Along with his faithful mechanic, he made it. He won 50 bucks. Of course, he spent $8,000… Men make stupid bets. We all know that, but that’s not the point.

The point is that we humans have always been afraid of change. There are those among us who embrace new technologies, but many people drag their heels until the change reaches critical mass and there’s nothing left to do but shrug their shoulders and admit that “the way of the world” is different now.

Does this sound familiar: “I would never want a mobile phone! I don’t want people to be able to reach me at any time, anywhere. I want to be able to get away!” And yet, most people now feel lost without their cell. Rather than tying us down, cell phones liberate us.

I’ve always been fascinated by this knee-jerk reaction. The fear is less about technology itself than about how it will change society. Many people want the world to stay as it was when they were kids. What was is “right,” and everything else is “wrong.”

Of course, it’s often the case that these people have an idealized view of what the world was like when they were children. They long for the innocent world of days gone by, but in fact, the innocence was within them. The world has had its failures and corruptions in every age.

Ten years before the start of VISIONS OF MAGIC, the first book of my Awakening series, humans discovered that witches are real. Not only that, but a woman you’d known for years could suddenly become a witch as her powers awakened. Witches are dangerous, a threat to everything people hold dear. What will become of the world they know and love, if witches are allowed to run loose, unfettered, performing spells and incantations?

In this dark world, fear of “the other” manifests itself as violence, as it so often does. Money is poured into research on how to inhibit witches’ powers so they can be captured, contained, or even killed. The first witch to be burned at the stake in the 21st Century was the aunt of my heroine, Shea Jameson. Like everyone else, Shea longs for the innocent days of her youth, the time before witchcraft. With everything in her, she fights the realization that her own powers are awakening. But fear of change isn’t enough to stop change from coming. It never is.

(By the way, for another laugh… did you know that Pennsylvania legislators unanimously voted to create a law requiring motorists to take apart their car and hide the parts if they happened upon livestock? The governor vetoed it before it could become law.)

Do you fight change or embrace it? What is a change you were slow to accept, but that you now welcome? In addition to the “horseless carriage,” what are some other new technologies that seem commonplace now but were protested when they first came along?

To celebrate Paranormal Spring Break, I’m giving away three of the paranormal romances I wrote under my other name, Maureen Child. The winner or winners will be chosen at random from among all the commenters and can choose from the following titles: Vanished, Eternally, Bedeviled, Beguiled. The contest is open to fans around the world!

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Wow Regan you did all the hard work for me! lol

Here’s a quick recap:

three (3) winners will each pick one book out of the following: Vanished, Eternally, Bedeviled, Beguiled.

This giveaway is open Internationally

To enter, just leave a comment answering Regan’s questions^^

Don’t forget to include a way to contact you!

If you want to earn an extra entry, spread the word and provide a link in a different comment =)

In the ten years since magic has reemerged in the world, witches have become feared and hunted. For weeks Shea Jameson has been haunted by visions of fire. When she unintentionally performs a spell in public, she becomes one of the hunted. Her only hope is Torin, a dangerously sensual man who claims to be her eternal mate.

Tynga is a 29 years old mom from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and blogging about them. Make sure to say hi on twitter!

I embrace change, especially advances in technology. eBooks; I fought getting a nook, I was one of the people who loved to feel the pages ~ I accept it more; only to get the book quicker (I still sometimes still buy the paperback). I remember when people thought who would need to take a call on the go; I couldn’t live without my iPhone.

I embrace change. I love the latest technology that come out. I think that the one piece of technology that changed people’s perception was the cellphone. Originally thought as something that only important business people would used it turned out that ordinary people ended up embracing it and due to their needs it became more then just a cellphone but a camera, wen browser, text messaging center etc.

Heather, I’m a slow adapter of new technology, I’ll admit. I wish witchcraft were real so I could just make things happen without having to figure out how to use machines. LOL But I’m with you… I couldn’t live without my cell phone now. I feel lost and disgruntled if it stops working or loses service. As if I have been personally targeted for persecution.

It’s not always that I embrace it, it is that you have to change and accept some things. My husband would say the VCR, but I agree with the cellphone. All the new electronics, the young ones grasps so easily and us older ones are scratching our heads and do the happy dance if we can get it to work at all:)

I love change. I embrace it completely. I did fight getting a ereader. I just didn’t want to jump on the band wagon. But I won a Kindle….and it’s awesome. I think many protested and still protest the DVR. I love it. But there are tons of people that refuse it as well.

Judy, you’re so right. For kids who grew up with electronics being such an integral part of daily life, they don’t understand why some adults are confused. Programming the remote is as easy and natural for them as clipping their fingernails.

BLHMistress, YES!!! I love looking at the cover right after reading a scene that moved me. The next generation of ereaders needs to have a button that allows you to toggle back and forth to the cover and the page you were on.

I usually don’t accept change fairly well although eventually I get with the new trend not because I want to but because I realize how convenient it is. I’m not a fan of the kindle or any ebooks but I’m currently saving up for a kindle because I know it will make life easier as far as space for my books goes since I can store so many books on a kindle and Blu-Ray discs i’m still against it but hubby is getting ready to buy one soon so i’ll be adapting.

In general, I’m not an early adopter, but I live with a serious geek, so I do tend to end up with gadgets before anyone else does, although I don’t necessarily use them much. I fought cell phones for years before finally giving in. An ereader is the exception though. I had one back in 2004, long before the first Sony or Kindle came out and I adored it from the minute I got my hands on it. The main reason I bought it was so that I wouldn’t have to carry so many books with me on vacation, but I quickly discovered that it was great all the time, not just when I was away.

I am slow to change- but eventually i come around. I am trying to learn how to work my Sony E-reader my husband is getting upset because i can’t figure it out. I still love the books you hold in your hand and turning the pages.audie@wickerness.com

Robin, good point! Change almost always requires an adjustment period, and that takes more time than just doing it the way you always have. Of course… I would imagine that wasn’t true, say, when going from carbon paper to a copy machine.

Do you fight change or embrace it? Everyone struggles with change. It is the unknow that people fear the most. Not knowing what is going to happen. What is a change you were slow to accept, but that you now welcome? I have always been very quiet and not very social. I still am but I learned to dealw ith people in my job. In addition to the “horseless carriage,” what are some other new technologies that seem commonplace now but were protested when they first came along? A car, phone television, computer. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read those books. Tore923@aol.com

Tore, I’m social, but I used to feel very shy sometimes when putting on my “author hat.” People came to signings to meet me, and readers were very excited. It was so sweet, but it made me feel humble and – I don’t want to say “not worthy,” but there were tinges of that. I felt more comfortable on the sidelines than as the center of attention. But like you, I accustomed myself to it, and now I really love doing signings.

The e reader is a constant battle for some. At first it was looked at as the end to paperbacks, but now it seems to be more acceptable in the novel community. I’m still not on the band wagon, but I will be soon.

change is scary yeah, but at the same time its kind of exciting with that being said I have to be truthful and say I fight it. At least on the first time i hear of it but i always come around once things have been properly explained lol. The nook and stuff like that i was at first like “what no pages?! your crazy” but now i see the advantages and although i still love having an actual book in my hands I’m not opposed to having a nook. I’m guessing the computer and internet were once “crazy people ideas” no?

Ah! Thanks for the review! As to the questions: Do you fight change or embrace it? What is a change you were slow to accept, but that you now welcome? In addition to the “horseless carriage,” what are some other new technologies that seem commonplace now but were protested when they first came along?

I embrace it! Change is good! I was slow to accept the change that came with relationships, but now that I have hit a groove, I like it!

As to technologies … I don’t know. I guess something like medical procedures ….?

I definitely embrace change because I think technology is great. I can’t imagine what it would be like without some of the technological advances that we have now. The only reason I wouldn’t embrace new electronics from the start is because of how crazy expensive they are when the innovations first become available on the market to purchase.

I was so stuck on using Facebooks and could not see the point in using Twitter when it offered far fewer choices. However, as soon as I got my first @Mention a few days ago, I’ve been hooked.

Well, I know that people were slow to embrace the Internet and conspiarcy theorists believed that it was a form of surveillance and a means of gaining intelligence from other countries. The internet took a while to catch on in my country, but I’m glad it did eventually find a place here:)

I accept change well…I had to growing up! We were always moving…I went to 17 different schools growing up that was with managing to go to K & 1 in the same school as well as 10-12 so that is a lot of moving for a non-army brat!

I embrace change!Especially advances in technology because I’m majoring in I.T.There are a lot of things that changed people’s perception, but the most amazing thing for me it’s the internet! I can’t live without it!

I like to think I’m flexible…LOL, but sometimes it’s a bit hard. A change that I was slow to accept was the birth of my younger half-sister, from my father’s new marriage. I was really mad (and a little jealous, I’ll admit it, I was no longer an only child) at first. But then I held her… and fell -super hard- in love with her. Technologies that were protested… certainly computers and the internet! Now we can’t live without ‘em!

I am very slow to change. I’m usually the last of my friends to embrace any new technology-for instance, eReaders. I was very much against them when they first started getting popular (I love my physical books!). However, I’m beginning to come around and seriously considering about investing in one someday (I don’t have the money now). I just hope that printed books won’t be completely cancelled out in the future.

Tv was actually something that was thought by some to not make it or not be accepted when it first came out .. also medicines/vaccinations were not welcomed by a lot of smaller communities when doctors first started practicing. They wanted to hang on to the remedies and folk methods passed down.

Well, I can’t say I love changes (whatever the kind), but if they’re absolutely necessary, then I’ll embrace them. I live in Europe, and I was already a big girl when the currency changed to Euro, and like everyone else I freaked out, and “fighted it” complaining every day, it so strange… it felt like I was spending money I didn’t know how to use. Now I can’t even remember the value of the “old money”. I guess we all tend to fight the unknown (because it’s scary!) It was a very slow adaptation, but it’s all good now.

The cell phone! Christ, I was one of those people who swore never to own a cell phone – why would I need to be able to call someone whenever I wanted it, right? well, like every human being on the planet, I own one now. xD

I don’t mind change, I like advances in technology like cell phones or EBooks. I accept change though I am enjoying ebooks I still love books, I loved to feel of them in my hands, and pass the pages and but now I couldn’t live without my Kindler.

I can’t say I embrace it, I would say I accept it. Neither my husband or me own a smart phone yet (will soon), or BluRay, or eBook. Partly due to cost and partly due to need, since need hasn’t arisen yet, we haven’t got them.

I just wanted to relate something from when I was a kid. I remember there were fears surrounding the use of a microwave in the home, especially something to do with pacemakers. My grandfather had one and I remember he would step out to the porch while it was running. I wish I could remember what exactly all those fears were but can you imagine the world today without one in your kitchen. That whole microwave meal section of the grocery store wouldn’t exist, which considering some of them could be a good thing – haha.

I embrace change. There is no point in fighting it, things can’t always stay the same. The hardest change for me was adjusting to becoming a mom when I was 18, just out of highschool. I had to grow up really quick and while the rest of my friends took off to college and parties, I was at home planning a wedding and preparing for my life. It was tough, but 10 years later and 2 more kids, I wouldn’t change anything. I think the technology that had a rought start was e books, but people now love them. They are quick easy to download and reduce clutter.

Do you fight change or embrace it? What is a change you were slow to accept, but that you now welcome? In addition to the “horseless carriage,” what are some other new technologies that seem commonplace now but were protested when they first came along?

I’m really bad at accepting change. One really hard change for me was leaving home and starting college. I missed my family, but I’ve come to love the time alone to get to know myself better. I don’t know any technologies that were protested when they first came out. officiallyjewels@gmail.comthanks julie